Opening Day at Camp carolina

Opening Day is one of our favorite days here at Camp Carolina! The atmosphere at camp is one of pure excitement and happiness with the counselors waiting enthusiastically  at the entrance of camp ready to greet their campers after weeks of on site training and months of waiting for this moment.

On arrival you will be greeted by your sons' counselor who will help you park and carry trunks etc to your son's cabin. After helping your son unpack and move in-parents please head to the camp office to officially check in, swing past the infirmary (with your camper!) for a health screening with our nurses and check out the camp store for some CCB swag or items that may have been forgotten (these can be done in any order).

The next step is the official goodbye and official start of your sons summer camp experience! We ensure that we have plenty of awesome activities offered on opening day to help with this transition and to keep the campers busy and engaged. These activities include pony rides, water front, zip line, slip’n’slide, climbing wall and some sports. A great way to farewell your son is by asking him which activity he would like to get involved in and then take him to the activity where there will be some counselors and probably some other campers. A hug, "I love you and will see you soon", and a confident non lingering farewell instills confidence in the campers. A tearful, nervous, lingering goodbye involving "I will come pick you up if you are homesick etc" can encourage homesickness.

The lunch gong rings at around Noon to signal all campers to head to the Dining Hall for lunch (parents this is the official time to depart!). Our first lunch is always an exciting time. We usually have delicious home cooked burgers and ice cream sandwiches on the menu and the boys sit with their cabin mates and counselors family style for their first of many meals. During the meal Associate Director "Shake n Bake" talks the campers through everything they need to know for the next few days and the coming afternoon including camp rules, camp traditions and how the dining hall and camp activities run. This is followed by and official and rousing welcome from Owner-Alfred Thompson!

That afternoon the boys go to 4 different stations around camp as a tribe. They head to the waterfront where they take part in a swim assessment and learn the buddy board system we use at CCB. They also head to the loft of the barn where they learn about the True Gentleman tradition and practice tribal chants. Things get loud! They also go on a camp tour and discover all the places-new and old that make up Camp Carolina and learn where each activity is run. Finally they also play a game of dodgeball to keep the afternoon fun and exciting. After activities the boys meet in their cabins and as a family unit decide on rules and cabin traditions and post these in the cabin. They can also finish settling in and playing some get to know you games.

That evening the boy's head to an early dinner at 6:00PM before the counselor activity skits begin! The counselors at camp present a short skit on stage about their particular activity so the boys can start considering what activities they wish to try while at Camp Carolina. Final component of opening day is activity sign ups where the boys can individually sign up for the activities they want to have during their 5 in camp periods. Shower time is at 9PM, lights out is at 9:30PM (this is where the amazing bed time stories begin!) and everyone is asleep by 10PM after a busy and exciting start the their summer session.

Parents' stay tuned on social media (Facebook and Instagram) during the summer to see daily updates and information on what the boys are getting up to. Your son's cabin counselor will write a postcard letting you know how day 1 has gone which you will receive in the mail a few days after Opening Day. You can also view daily photos via your camp in touch account!

Check out this video of August Session 2016 Opening Day!